The cent symbol (¢) is a common special character that is not readily available on a standard keyboard. When writing financial, statistical, or other documents that require the cent symbol, it can be inconvenient having to navigate through Word’s Insert menu every time you need to add it.
Fortunately, there is a handy keyboard shortcut that makes inserting cents symbols easy:
On Windows: Ctrl + Alt + C
On Mac: Option + C
This shortcut allows you to quickly insert the cent symbol into Word or any other Microsoft Office program like Excel or PowerPoint. In this guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about using keyboard shortcuts to add cent symbols on both Windows and Mac.
Benefits of Using the Keyboard Shortcut
There are a few major benefits to using the keyboard shortcut for cents symbols rather than inserting them through Word’s interface:
- It’s faster: Just a simple three-key combo is much quicker than clicking through menus. This saves significant time when inserting many instances.
- Works across Office apps: The shortcut works seamlessly in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc. No relearning needed!
- Easier than auto-correct: Setting up an auto-correct entry can work but requires setup every time you use a new computer. The shortcut works instantly with no config.
- Requires no typing: Symbols like ¢ can be tricky to type accurately. The shortcut inserts it correctly every time.
As you can see, the keyboard method is simpler and more efficient than other insertion methods. Even if you only need a few cents symbols per document, the shortcut will quickly become second nature and speed up your editing.
How to Use the Cent Symbol Keyboard Shortcut
Using the handy cents symbol shortcut only takes a moment. Follow these steps:
On Windows
- Place your cursor where you want the cent symbol to be inserted
- Press
Ctrl + Alt + Con your keyboard - The ¢ symbol will be inserted automatically
On Mac
- Place your cursor where you want the cent symbol to be inserted
- Press
Option + C - The ¢ symbol will be inserted automatically
And that’s it! The symbol will appear exactly where you placed your cursor. This works anywhere that you can type text including Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook emails, PowerPoint, OneNote, and more.
Pro Tip: Make sure to press the keys simultaneously. If you press them separately, you may trigger other unwanted keyboard shortcuts.
How to Use the Shortcut to Edit Existing Cent Symbols
The keyboard shortcut doesn’t just insert new cents symbols. You can also use it to edit any existing ¢ symbols in a document.
To do this:
- Click your mouse cursor anywhere in an existing ¢ symbol
- Press the standard shortcut for your operating system
- This will select the symbol so you can delete, copy, or make any other edits
Being able to access the symbols already in your text can save you clicks when updating financial figures, statistics, and other data.
Other Special Symbols and Shortcuts
Along with cents, there are keyboard shortcuts available to insert other special characters:
| Symbol | Windows Shortcut | Mac Shortcut |
|-|-|-|
| ¢ Cent sign | Ctrl + Alt + C | Option + C |
| £ Pound sign | Ctrl + Alt + 4 | Option + 3 |
| € Euro sign | Ctrl + Alt + E | Option + Shift + 2 |
| ¥ Yen sign | Ctrl + Alt + Y | Option + Y |
| § Section sign | Ctrl + Alt + S | Option + 6 |
| © Copyright | Ctrl + Alt + C | Option + G |
| ® Registered | Ctrl + Alt + R | Option + R |
| TM Trademark | Ctrl + Alt + T | Option + 2 |
| ∞ Infinity | Ctrl + Alt + I | Option + 5 |
These cover many of the special characters you might need for financial, legal, mathematical, or other documents. Like the cent shortcut, they work across the Microsoft Office suite.
Memorize a few of the shortcuts for the symbols you use most frequently. This saves you endless clicks through Symbol menus whenever you need them!
Get More Out of Your Word Documents with Shortcuts
Along with special character shortcuts, there are dozens of other keyboard shortcuts available in Word to help you save time.
Here are some of the most useful to know:
- Bold:
Ctrl + B(Windows and Mac) - Italics:
Ctrl + I(Windows and Mac) - Underline:
Ctrl + U(Windows and Mac) - Copy:
Ctrl + C(Windows and Mac) - Paste:
Ctrl + V(Windows and Mac) - Cut:
Ctrl + X(Windows and Mac) - Undo:
Ctrl + Z(Windows and Mac) - Redo:
Ctrl + Y(Windows) /Shift + Ctrl + Z(Mac) - Save Document:
Ctrl + S
Learning keyboard shortcuts like these will make you far more efficient at writing and editing documents in Word. You’ll be able to format text, copy and paste content, and undo mistakes faster than ever.
Microsoft has a full list of Word keyboard shortcuts available here. Take a look through them to find which shortcuts you use most.
Conclusion
Being able to quickly insert cent symbols using handy keyboard shortcuts is useful for anyone working with financial and numerical data in Word. Rather than inserting special characters through menus, the Ctrl + Alt + C (Windows) or Option + C (Mac) shortcut saves significant time.
Beyond cents symbols, memorize shortcuts for other special characters you use often like © and ® symbols. And take advantage of the many other keyboard shortcuts in Word to expedite your everyday writing and editing.
Adopting all these shortcuts takes a bit of practice, but they will soon become muscle memory. Using them will noticeably accelerate your productivity working in Word and other Office programs.
So next time you need to add a ¢ symbol, use the handy keyboard shortcut instead of clicking through menus. It’s one small change that will make you more efficient at writing and allow you to get more done.
